University of the Philippines – Diliman

College of Engineering
INSTITUTE OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

CE 28 ANALYTICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL

METHODS IN CIVL ENGINEERING II
2nd Semester AY 2015-2016

CE 28 MACHINE PROBLEM REPORT 2:

FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

Submitted by:

Ericka V. Capuli Name Name

2013-14739 Student Number Student Number
CE 28 TVW

Submitted to:

Ma’am Jeane Camelo

Instructor

Date Submitted:

May 20, 2016

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This paper deals with the computation and representation of the temperature distribution of a
plate that is insulated at its left and right side, and has its bottom and internal parts
maintained at a temperature of 300 ⁰C. The specific method to be used is the Finite Element
Method, with the Galerkin method also integrated. By solving the resulting matrices from
dividing the plate into several elements, the temperatures at different parts of the plate were
calculated and graphically represented as the final output. The results show a trend of
decreasing temperature as the distance from the heat source is increased, which is also
supported by the 2nd law of thermodynamics.
Key Words: temperature distribution, heat plate, Finite element method, Galerkin method,
Method of weighted residuals, GMSH
INRODUCTION

The objective of the paper is to find the temperature of a given plate that is being constantly
heated at the bottom with a temperature of 300o C. Through time, the heat source affects the
and spreads throughout the plate. It is given that the sides of the plate are insulated,
meaning that temperature at the sides are 0 and heat does not go in and out of the plate at
the sides. There is also no ambient temperature and at the same time, the temperature at
the source does not fluctuate, making it in a steady state condition. There are no internal
heat source inside the plate also.

Since the problem involves heat and mass transfer, the governing differential equation will
be:

𝜕 𝜕𝑇 𝑚𝑐 ̇𝜕𝑇 ℎ𝑃 𝜕𝑇
(𝑘𝑥𝑥 ) + 𝑄 = + (𝑇 − 𝑇∞ ) + 𝜌
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝐴 𝜕𝑥 𝐴 𝜕𝑡

With the given conditions, the governing differential equation will be simplified and can be
used as a residual in Method of Weighed Residuals in the Finite Element Method.

Using the Finite Element Method, the researchers will approximate the temperature at any
point on the plate. The Finite Element Method is a way to approximate the solution of a
particular equation by dividing the whole element into different elements and approximating
the values at the nodes of the elements. These nodes will be approximations of the real
solution since this is a numerical solution, not an analytical solution. Using the Method of
Weighted Residuals and the Galerkin Method, with the given interpolation functions, the
researchers were able to approximate the temperature at the nodes that were produced by
the mesh.

𝑀𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑠

∭ 𝜔𝑅𝑑∀ = 0
𝐺𝑎𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑘𝑖𝑛 𝑀𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑑
∭ 𝑁𝑖 𝑅𝑑∀ = 0

𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐹𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠
1
𝑁𝑖 (𝑥, 𝑦) = (𝑎 + 𝑏𝑖 𝑥 + 𝑐𝑖 𝑦)
2𝐴 𝑖
1
𝑁𝑗 (𝑥, 𝑦) = (𝑎 + 𝑏𝑗 𝑥 + 𝑐𝑗 𝑦)
2𝐴 𝑗
1
𝑁𝑘 (𝑥, 𝑦) = (𝑎 + 𝑏𝑘 𝑥 + 𝑐𝑘 𝑦)
2𝐴 𝑘

The final form of the Galerkin Method will be reduced to:

[𝐾 (𝑒) ][𝑇 (𝑒) ] = [𝑃]

Since matrix [𝐾 (𝑒) ] was derived from the interpolation function and the residual function, and
matrix [𝑃] is the loaded matrix that contains information from the boundary condition, we can
use Gaussian Elimination to solve the temperature at different elements.
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

The Finite Element Method is a tool to solve an equation or a function by approximating a

continuous quantity as a set of quantities by the use of certain points or nodes. This can be
done by dividing the quantities into different elements, or transform the whole function into a
mesh with nodes that can provide information to solve the equation. When the function is
divided into different elements, such as triangles, the triangles will have three nodes that can
contain information to solve the whole equation. Some of the nodes will contain the
Boundary Conditions of the function and these will be used to approximate the solution to
the equation with regards to the other nodes. Since the Finite Element Method is a process
that needs to be repeated for each element, computers and programs are used to solve this
method. Although it only produces an approximation to the answer, it is guided by an
interpolation function that makes the solution accurate to a certain degree. Finite Element
Method is widely used in Heat Equations, Mass Transports, and Fluid Mechanics since the
method can accurately approximate the heat at a certain point in a body, or the amount of
fluid that was displaced from storage area or a reservoir.

Diagram 1. Square Plate

Given the diagram above, with 300o C as a boundary condition, the Finite Element Method is
a convenient way to solve for the temperature in the whole body. Converting the whole
element into a mesh that will have particular nodes which can be solved will approximate the
temperature of each element in the mesh.
 Diagram 2. Gmsh

Since there is a constant temperature source at the bottom of the plate, through time, the
rest of the plate would be affected by the source as the heat disperses from the bottom to
the top of the plate. Because of this, the governing differential equation for the problem is:

1 𝐷𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝐸𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡

𝜕 𝜕𝑇 𝑚𝑐 ̇𝜕𝑇 ℎ𝑃 𝜕𝑇
(𝑘𝑥𝑥 ) + 𝑄 = + (𝑇 − 𝑇∞ ) + 𝜌 (1)
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝐴 𝜕𝑥 𝐴 𝜕𝑡
𝐺𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡:
𝜕 𝜕𝑇
(𝑘 ) = 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑥
𝜕𝑥 𝑥𝑥 𝜕𝑥
𝑄 = 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑆𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒
𝑚𝑐 𝜕𝑇
= 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑥
𝐴 𝜕𝑥
ℎ𝑃
(𝑇 − 𝑇∞ ) = 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑇𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒
𝐴
𝜕𝑇
𝜌 = 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒
𝜕𝑡

The differential equation can be simplified by the given conditions:

𝑄 = 0 (𝑁𝑜 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑐𝑒)

𝑚𝑐 𝜕𝑇
= 0 (𝑁𝑒𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝐹𝑙𝑢𝑥)
𝐴 𝜕𝑥
ℎ𝑃
(𝑇 − 𝑇∞ ) = 0 (𝑁𝑜 𝑎𝑚𝑏𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝. )
𝐴
𝜕𝑇
𝜌 = 0 (𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛)
𝜕𝑡

Using the given conditions, the Heat Equation with Mass Transport is now reduced to:

𝜕2𝑇
𝑘𝑥𝑥 = 0 (2)
𝜕𝑥 2
Since the plate is two dimensional, the simplified Heat Equation with Mass Transport will be
transformed into:

𝜕2𝑇 𝜕2𝑇
(𝑘𝑥 + 𝑘𝑦 ) = 0 (3)
𝜕𝑥 2 𝜕𝑦 2

Equation 3 will now be the governing differential equation for the given problem. This will
also be the residual function that will be used in the Weighted Residual Method: Galerkin
Method.

The Method of Weighted Residuals is a way to solve Partial Differential Equations. It uses a
weighting function and a residual (differential equation), that is integrated on a certain
volume and equated to 0 to minimize the error and have an accurate approximation.

∭ 𝜔𝑅𝑑∀ = 0 (4)
𝜔 = 𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
𝑅 = 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑙

The Galerkin Method transforms the weighting function of the Method of Weighted Residuals
into interpolation functions. This is done since we are considering that the interpolation will
have the same weight with each other. Since we need to minimize the error and make it as
accurate as possible, we equate it to 0 and see what will the solutions be.

∭ 𝑁𝑖 𝑅𝑑∀ = 0 (5)

The interpolation functions for a two dimensional diagram is given by:

1
𝑁𝑖 (𝑥, 𝑦) = (𝑎 + 𝑏𝑖 𝑥 + 𝑐𝑖 𝑦) (6)
2𝐴 𝑖
1
𝑁𝑗 (𝑥, 𝑦) = (𝑎 + 𝑏𝑗 𝑥 + 𝑐𝑗 𝑦) (7)
2𝐴 𝑗
1
𝑁𝑘 (𝑥, 𝑦) = (𝑎 + 𝑏𝑘 𝑥 + 𝑐𝑘 𝑦) (8)
2𝐴 𝑘

Using equation 3 as the residual function for equation 5, and considering that the problem is
only in two dimensions, meaning, it will only be integrated at a surface. Equation 5 will now
be transformed to:

𝜕2𝑇 𝜕2𝑇
∬ (𝑘𝑥 + 𝑘𝑦 ) 𝑁 𝑑𝑆 = 0 (9)
𝜕𝑥 2 𝜕𝑦 2 𝑖
Equation 9 can be simplified using integration by parts. By integrating the 1st and 2nd term,
the whole equation can be transformed to a weak function that can be transformed into a
matrix.

𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 1𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚 𝑣𝑖𝑎 𝐼𝐵𝑃

𝜕2𝑇 𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑇 (𝑒) 𝜕𝑇 (𝑒)
∬ 𝑘𝑥 2 𝑁𝑖 𝑑𝑆 = − ∬ 𝑘𝑥 𝑑𝑆 + ∬ 𝑁𝑖 𝑘𝑥 𝑙 𝑑𝑆 (10)
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝑥
𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 2𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚 𝑣𝑖𝑎 𝐼𝐵𝑃
 𝜕2𝑇 𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑇 (𝑒) 𝜕𝑇 (𝑒)
∬ 𝑘𝑦 𝑁 𝑑𝑆 = − ∬ 𝑘 𝑑𝑆 + ∬ 𝑁 𝑘 𝑙 𝑑𝑆 (11)
𝜕𝑦 2 𝑖 𝜕𝑦 𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝑖 𝑦
𝜕𝑦 𝑦

Combining and rearranging Equation 10 and 11,

𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑇 (𝑒) 𝜕𝑁𝑖 𝜕𝑇 (𝑒) 𝜕𝑇 (𝑒) 𝜕𝑇 (𝑒)

− ∬(𝑘𝑥 + 𝑘𝑦 )𝑑𝑆 + ∬ 𝑁𝑖 (𝑘𝑥 𝑙𝑥 + 𝑘𝑦 𝑙 )𝑑𝑆 = 0 (12)
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦 𝑥

The first term of equation 12 will become the stiffness matrix while the second term of
equation 12 will become the known temperatures at certain points.

Differentiating the interpolation functions to satisfy some of the terms in equation 12,

𝜕𝑁 𝜕𝑁
= 𝑏 (13) = 𝑐 (14)
𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑦

We can now use equation 13 and 14 and plug it in to equation 12. Since we would be doing
the same thing all over the whole mesh, it would be better if we transform the integral into a
matrix form.

[𝐾 (𝑒) ][𝑇 (𝑒) ] − [𝑃] = 0 (15)

𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒:
(𝑒)
[𝐾 ] = 𝑆𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑀𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑥
(𝑒)
[𝑇 ] = 𝑇𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑠
[𝑃] = 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑜𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑑𝑒𝑠

𝑏𝑖 𝑐𝑖
1 𝑘 0 𝑏𝑖 𝑏𝑗 𝑏𝑘
[𝐾 (𝑒) ] = ∬ 𝑏𝑗 𝑐𝑗 ] [ 𝑥 𝑇 [𝐴][𝐵]𝑑𝑆
4𝐴(𝑒)
2 [ 0 𝑘𝑦 ] [ 𝑐𝑖 𝑐𝑗 𝑐𝑘 ] 𝑑𝑆 = ∬[𝐵] (16)
𝑏𝑘 𝑐𝑘
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒:
𝜕𝑁1 𝜕𝑁𝑝
1 … 1 𝑏𝑖 𝑏𝑗 𝑏𝑘
[𝐵] = (𝑒) 𝜕𝑥 𝜕𝑥
= [
2𝐴 𝜕𝑁1 𝜕𝑁𝑝 2𝐴(𝑒) 𝑐𝑖 𝑐𝑗 𝑐𝑘 ]
…
[ 𝜕𝑦 𝜕𝑥 ]
𝑘 0
[𝐴] = [ 𝑥
0 𝑘𝑦 ]
𝐴𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑑𝑆 = 1𝑑𝐴 − − ∫ 𝑑𝐴 = 𝐴(𝑒)
𝑏𝑖2 𝑏𝑖 𝑏𝑗 𝑏𝑖 𝑏𝑘 𝑐𝑖2 𝑐𝑖 𝑏𝑗 𝑐𝑖 𝑐𝑘
𝑘 𝑥 𝑘 𝑦
[𝐾 (𝑒) ] = [ 𝑏𝑖 𝑏𝑗 𝑏𝑗2 𝑏𝑗 𝑏𝑘 ] + (𝑒) [ 𝑐𝑖 𝑐𝑗 𝑐𝑗2 𝑐𝑗 𝑐𝑘 ] (17)
4𝐴(𝑒) 4𝐴
𝑏𝑖 𝑏𝑘 𝑏𝑗 𝑏𝑘 𝑏𝑘2 𝑐𝑖 𝑐𝑘 𝑐𝑗 𝑐𝑘 𝑐𝑘2
𝐺𝐼𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑠 ∶ 𝑘𝑥 = 𝑘𝑦
(𝑏𝑖2 +𝑐𝑖2 ) (𝑏𝑖 𝑏𝑗 + 𝑐𝑖 𝑐𝑗 ) (𝑏𝑖 𝑏𝑘 + 𝑐𝑖 𝑐𝑘 )
𝑘
(𝑒)
[𝐾 ] = [(𝑏𝑖 𝑏𝑗 + 𝑐𝑖 𝑐𝑗 ) (𝑏𝑗2 + 𝑐𝑗2 ) (𝑏𝑗 𝑏𝑘 + 𝑐𝑗 𝑐𝑘 )] (18)
4𝐴(𝑒)
(𝑏𝑖 𝑏𝑘 + 𝑐𝑖 𝑐𝑘 (𝑏𝑗 𝑏𝑘 + 𝑐𝑗 𝑐𝑘 ) (𝑏𝑘2 + 𝑐𝑘2 )
Since the stiffness matrix has been determined and matrix P is a matrix with known
temperature at certain points, we can now use Gaussian Elimination to solve for the
unknowns. This will produce the temperatures at the nodes of the mesh.

[𝐾 (𝑒) ][𝑇 (𝑒) ] = [𝑃] (19)

PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

First, the heat plate was divided into several (triangular) elements and each node
was labeled accordingly. The program GMSH was used by the researchers for this
step.

The global coordinates of each node can be accessed using GMSH. For each
element consisting of 3 nodes each, the x and y coordinates of each node was
tabulated.

For each element, values for ci, cj, ck, bi, bj, and bk were calculated (see Equation 20).
The area of each element was also calculated (see Equation 21).

An elemental matrix was formed for each element using Equation 18. These matrices
were then combined to form a global matrix which combines all nodes, pertained to
as the stiffness matrix. Values from different elemental matrices but of the same node
were combined in the global matrix.

Combining the global matrix with a variable matrix of temperatures and a matrix of
known temperatures gives out Equation 19. The user was asked for the value of the
temperature at the nodes with known values, and the program substituted these into
the variable matrix. The new constants formed were transferred to the left hand side
to simplify the matrix.

Using Gaussian Elimination, the unknown temperature values were then computed.

For the formation of each elemental matrix, the researchers used a value of 35 for the k
value used in Equation 18. The equations for ci, cj, ck, bi, bj, and bk are as follows.

𝑐𝑖 = 𝑥𝑘 − 𝑥𝑗 (20)
𝑐𝑗 = 𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥𝑘
𝑐𝑘 = 𝑥𝑗 − 𝑥𝑖
𝑏𝑖 = 𝑦𝑗 − 𝑦𝑘
𝑏𝑗 = 𝑦𝑘 − 𝑦𝑖
 𝑏𝑘 = 𝑦𝑖 − 𝑦𝑗

The area per element was then calculated using Equation 21.

1
𝐴 = ( ) (𝑥𝑖𝑗 𝑦𝑗𝑘 − 𝑥𝑗𝑘 𝑦𝑖𝑗 ) (21)
2
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑥𝑖𝑗 = 𝑥𝑗 − 𝑥𝑖, 𝑦𝑗𝑘 = 𝑦𝑘 − 𝑦𝑗, 𝑒𝑡𝑐.

The right side of Diagram 3 shows an example of a final elemental matrice.

Diagram 3. Formation of each elemental matrix.

Diagram 4. Global/Stiffness matrix.

A graphical representation of the combination of values of the same node per elemental
matrix can be seen in Diagram 5. Points having the same index (red cells) have their values
added together and placed in the global matrix (orange cell).

-->
Diagram 5. Formation of the elements in the global matrix.

The program then proceeds to ask the user for the value of the nodes with known
temperatures. Since the format of the equation is that of Equation 19, the variable matrix can
be substituted for. In the case of 25 elements, the known temperatures were that of nodes 1,
2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, and 11, all of which are at 300 ⁰C. Therefore, as an example, the value at
point (1,1) of the global matrix must be multiplied to 300 and then transferred to the right-
hand side. Doing this to the whole matrix simplifies the global matrix and therefore allows for
the removal of rows and columns with known values already.

Two cases were considered in doing this whole process. The first one involved the division
of the heat plate into 10 elements only (Diagram 6), while the second had the heat plate
divided into 25 elements (Diagram 2).

Diagram 6. GMSH graphic of 10 element division.

OUTPUT/RESULTS

The results from applying Gaussian Elimination to Equation 19 yield the temperature values
of the nodes without an initial given value, since only the bottom and internal parts were
assigned to have a value of 300 ⁰C.

Given that the left and right sides also happen to be insulated, the results from the 10
element plate show that as the surface goes higher, the temperature happens to decrease.
With nothing to regulate or increase the heat at the top, it makes sense for the heat to
dissipate as the point observed moves further from the heat source, which is the bottom.
This can be graphically observed using Diagram 7.

Using Gaussian Elimination to solve Equation 19, the temperatures of the nodes of a heat
plate divided into 10 elements are shown below:

Node Temperature
2 122.165784
3 126.514534
4 300.000000
5 300.000000
6 300.000000
7 300.000000
8 300.000000
9 300.000000
10 278.815370
11 278.306213
Table 1. Temperatures of 10 Element plate.
Diagram 7. Temperature distribution with temperature values of each node for 10 elements.

A similar temperature distribution can be observed from the heat plate divided into 25
elements. The dissipation of heat can be more easily seen due to the numerous points of
observation available. Graphically, as seen in Diagram 8, the temperature is once again
highest at the bottom, and lowest at the top; in particular, the center-top part of the plate has
the lowest temperature of 35.9557 ⁰C.

For a heat plate divided into 25 elements, the temperatures of the nodes are shown below:

Node Temperature
1 300.000000
2 300.000000
3 300.000000
4 300.000000
5 119.411836
6. 119.681214
7 300.000000
8 300.000000
9 162.770705
10 300.000000
11 300.000000
12 162.582940
13 83.782376
14 35.955709
15 84.010934
16 113.755605
17 114.116807
18 209.533158
19 176.261991
20 180.683137
21 212.066296
Table 2. Temperatures of 25 Element plate.
Diagram 8. Temperature distribution with temperature values of each node for 25 elements.

The lowest temperatures from the user-assigned nodes using GMSH are 122.126 ⁰C for the
10-element plate, and 35.9557 ⁰C for the 25-element plate. It is expected that the 25-
element plate will give out a lower value only because it covers a larger surface area when it
comes to the distribution of nodes since the plate is divided into more elements.

The values derived using the Finite Element Method can be deemed accurate considering
the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. According to this law, heat flows from a hot body to a cool
body. The plate in this machine problem only has its bottom and internal parts maintained at
300 ⁰C. The sides are also insulated, and so therefore, if the plate was initially at a normal
temperature, the introduction of a higher temperature at the bottom and internal parts would
then cause the heat to dissipate and flow towards the colder parts of the plate, which would
then be towards the top.

CONCLUSIONS AND/OR RECOMMENDATIONS

Although the finite element method is only an approximation, it was able to yield out the
temperature distribution of a plate heated only at the bottom and the internal parts. When it
comes to accuracy, it may be preferable to refer to the plate divided into 25 elements, as it
has more nodes and therefore more points of observation available. It would then be much
easier to estimate the temperature at other parts of the plate once a temperature distribution
established.

The division of elements does affect the computed temperatures at certain nodes. For
example, the right-topmost node of the plate was solved to have a temperature of 122.126
⁰C for the 10-element plate, and a temperature of 119.412 ⁰C for the 25-element plate. As
said previously, this difference can be attributed to the fact that more nodes mean more
calculations, and therefore an increase in accuracy. In the construction of the temperature
distribution, the larger number of nodes in the 25-element plate also allowed for easier
graphical observation since the variations in temperature (and therefore their corresponding
colors) are much more connected to each other.

The results from the finite element method for this particular problem are supported by the
2nd Law of Thermodynamics, particularly how heat flows to areas of colder temperatures. It
can be concluded that the finite element method is an accurate way of solving heat problems
and similar exercises, and is therefore a recommendable procedure.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Adjerid, S. and Baccouch, M., GALERKIN METHODS, Scholarpedia, 2010.

2. Weisstein, E.W., FINITE ELEMENT METHOD, MathWorld Wolfram, n.d.
3. Kobes, R., 2nd LAW OF THERMODYNAMICS, University of Winnipeg, 1999.
4. Camelo, J., TWO DIMENSIONAL HEAT PROBLEM POWERPOINT, University of
the Philippines Diliman, n.d.
5. Camelo, J., FEM: FLUID FLOW POWERPOINT, University of the Philippines
Diliman, n.d.

APPENDIX